Even with the over bore and the cc heads my mustang never runs hot.
Years ago I installed a Mr. Gasket 180 degree thermostat.
Some time after that I swapped on some 4v CC heads, cam and such (see sig)
And it pinged. So I added stuff to control (to some degree) the pinging.
There is a lot more to this story but I have fought the pinging for a long time.
Earlier this week my engine overheated on the freeway. My thermostat had stuck closed. Pulling off there was A LOT of pinging.
I went to the local parts store and, of course, they did not have a 'Cleveland' thermostat with the 'hat'. I needed to get the car running so I picked up a cheap non brand name 192 degree thermostat. Swapped them out and done.
Here is a picture of the offending Mr. Gasket 180 thermostat and the receipt for the new generic thermostat.
The next day I drove it to work. I noticed it wasn't pinging. Maybe a hint here and there but no real pinging. I had to really listen for it. I figured I might have had a good batch of gas and octane boost so decided to wait till I was sure.
Today I put in straight 91 octane. No octane boosters. There is 'almost' no pinging. More than with the enhanced gas but MUCH less than before when running on straight 91. (I have been keeping notes). It's almost a miracle. I still have to kind of 'listen' for it. Before if I ran straight 91 it would ping bad enough that I would rev it higher to reduce the load before shifting. And any acceleration I would downshift to reduce the pinging.
Needless to say I am both stoked and amazed. My next goal is to get a 'real' Cleveland thermostat. I know the part numbers, a search makes them easy to find, but no local sources means I have to order on the web and everyone seems to use a 'stock' photo.
So I post this for anyone doing a search on pinging. Check which TYPE of thermostat you are running. You can see that the 'mr gasket' not only doesn't have the 'hat' that seals the block return but it actually pulls away from the block return. It allows heated water to be circulated back into the engine.
All the while my temp gauge showed I was running at or below normal operating range. (Mind you a 40 year old gauge accuracy will always be in question). But even when I would check with a IR gun it showed the flow as being cool.
And again, I never had an 'over heating' issue. The car always ran fine other than the pinging. Stop and go traffic was not an issue. Long drives were not an issue. It always showed fine on the temp gauge.
If your Cleveland is pinging you might just check which thermostat you are running. Now I get to spend some time with timing, spark plugs and octane boosters all over again...
Years ago I installed a Mr. Gasket 180 degree thermostat.
Some time after that I swapped on some 4v CC heads, cam and such (see sig)
And it pinged. So I added stuff to control (to some degree) the pinging.
There is a lot more to this story but I have fought the pinging for a long time.
Earlier this week my engine overheated on the freeway. My thermostat had stuck closed. Pulling off there was A LOT of pinging.
I went to the local parts store and, of course, they did not have a 'Cleveland' thermostat with the 'hat'. I needed to get the car running so I picked up a cheap non brand name 192 degree thermostat. Swapped them out and done.
Here is a picture of the offending Mr. Gasket 180 thermostat and the receipt for the new generic thermostat.
The next day I drove it to work. I noticed it wasn't pinging. Maybe a hint here and there but no real pinging. I had to really listen for it. I figured I might have had a good batch of gas and octane boost so decided to wait till I was sure.
Today I put in straight 91 octane. No octane boosters. There is 'almost' no pinging. More than with the enhanced gas but MUCH less than before when running on straight 91. (I have been keeping notes). It's almost a miracle. I still have to kind of 'listen' for it. Before if I ran straight 91 it would ping bad enough that I would rev it higher to reduce the load before shifting. And any acceleration I would downshift to reduce the pinging.
Needless to say I am both stoked and amazed. My next goal is to get a 'real' Cleveland thermostat. I know the part numbers, a search makes them easy to find, but no local sources means I have to order on the web and everyone seems to use a 'stock' photo.
So I post this for anyone doing a search on pinging. Check which TYPE of thermostat you are running. You can see that the 'mr gasket' not only doesn't have the 'hat' that seals the block return but it actually pulls away from the block return. It allows heated water to be circulated back into the engine.
All the while my temp gauge showed I was running at or below normal operating range. (Mind you a 40 year old gauge accuracy will always be in question). But even when I would check with a IR gun it showed the flow as being cool.
And again, I never had an 'over heating' issue. The car always ran fine other than the pinging. Stop and go traffic was not an issue. Long drives were not an issue. It always showed fine on the temp gauge.
If your Cleveland is pinging you might just check which thermostat you are running. Now I get to spend some time with timing, spark plugs and octane boosters all over again...